THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - A disappointing ending to an undefeated SCIAC championship season in 2011 season left a sour taste in the mouths of the Cal Lutheran women's soccer team. With 12 returning players and 11 fresh faces the Regals have high expectations for their 2012 campaign, entering the season as the No. 16 ranked team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Continental Tires Preseason Top 25 poll.

Last fall after earning their second league title in as many years, the CLU NCAA run came to an abrupt halt at the hands of UC Santa Cruz with a 1-0 overtime loss in the first round of the playoffs.

Those who will suit up for the Violet and Gold again have used the disappointment as motivation.

"We will never forget that game, but we can't hang on to it," senior captain Kirsten DiPippo said. "This program is yet to win in the post season and it is something that we [the players and the coaches] are all hungry for. We want to be the better team in the end and we know we are capable of that."

Mimicking those sentiments was classmate and captain Nicole Rains who said, "We were so close, but so far. The returners have been in that situation, and lost. We want to get there again; to win SCIAC and go further."

Among the returning athletes is a pair of First Team All-West Region recipients in Taylor Will and Lindsay Armenta.

Will has her work cut out for herself after making an immediate impact in the league as a freshman. Not only did the forward land on the First Team All-SCIAC, but she was also named the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year after scoring 19 goals with eight assists, providing 46 total points for CLU during their 20-2-1 run. Additionally, Will was named to the ESPN College All-Area Team. Armenta, who started 21 games, tallied seven goals as a junior in 2011.

The senior class of six includes a trio of defenders in DiPippo, Kristin Cameron and Dani Granholm, a pair of midfielders in Armenta and Rainsand forward Mayra Virgen. The group combined for 27 goals and 11 assists in 2011.

Making up the junior class are defender Anna Medler and forward Kristina Hulse as well as a couple of transfers with defender Stephanie Gilbert and forward Bailey Marquez staged to make an impact from the start. Medler had an assist last season while Hulse was responsible for eight goals and eight assists for 24 total points, second on the squad to Will.

With a year of collegiate experience in hand, the sophomore class is comprised of goalie Kristin Bailey, midfielder Kainoa Becker, defender Mary Case and Will at forward. Bailey and Becker each scored once with Becker adding an assist. Bailey recorded five wins, allowing just two goals, with five saves, in 11 appearances.

The freshman class of nine has five defensive players: Mallory Carcich, Deanna Decker, Jenna Malinoski, Aubrie Odell and Jenna Yutsus, two midfielders: Melissa Abdelkerim and Brittany Eremita, a forward Carmen Wheeler and a goalkeeper Karly Loberg.

With all the new faces, one of the keys to success this year is integrating the new players into the CLU system.

"Early in the season, with a lot of new players, it is all about developing chemistry, which will be important in continuing the tradition of excellence that the program has had," head coach Frank Marino believes.

Aiding in that transition will be the guidance from the upper classmen.

"I am excited about the leadership and enthusiasm I have seen from the captains this fall," Marino went on, "It is important for all of our players to know her role and embrace that for the success of the team."

Success and CLU soccer have gone hand-in-hand for years. After a run of 10 consecutive league titles, 11 in 12 years, between 1991 and 2002 the program took a dip before returning to prominence under Marino's tutelage.

"My freshman year we won 13 games, as a sophomore we won 18 and last year added a 20-win season," DiPippo recalled. "Frank has shown that he can recruit talented players and is continually raising the bar and level of play." She added, "While we all have individual talents, it is interesting to see the high caliber players come in and watch the level increase across the board. It has made us a solid team from front to back."

That level of play has certainly increased in the last three years as Marino currently holds a 51-11-4 overall record at the helm.

"This senior group is my first class," Marino recalled, "The evolution of the program and the transformations that have occurred are evident. Right now there is a lot of pride and the essence is to continue that tradition."

Rains is proud to be a connected to a program with such a rich history. "It is special to be a part of what the teams in the 90's started. Our role is to prepare the newbies to succeed once we are gone and don't have a say. I want to teach the future today and lead this team by leaving it all out on the field."

DiPippo said it best, "We want to leave a legacy."

Legacies begin with traditions and CLU women's soccer is at no lack of tradition.

The rituals that began back in the mid-90's still reign today from home-game pre-game poems to day before game day practice jersey with a meaningful quote printed across the back, which have bonded generations of young women on the field of play. This squad is no different.

Chosen by the leaders of the team, the quote is always significant, coming from something that the previous squad accomplished and looking forward to what the upcoming year has in store.

Last year, following the first SCIAC title since 2002, the shirts read:

"Winning takes talent, but to repeat takes character" coined by the late John Wooden.

"We used that quote to test the character of the team; to see if we could use it to repeat as champions and that is what we did," Cameron, the third CLU captain, shared.

This year the consensus was to use the quote of an athlete, better yet, a female soccer standout. So, the shirts read:

"Take your victories whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don't settle for them." - Mia Hamm.

Cameron spoke to the fact that as back-to-back SCIAC champions there is a target on the Regals' back. "Obviously we have won a lot of games in the last couple of years, we have cherished the victories, but we know that winning isn't just OK. We won't settle for it, we want to appreciate the success and then exceed the expectations."

This group has accomplished a lot but they want something more. "We don't want to be content just winning conference because we have bigger goals; we want to win a post season game," DiPippo said. "We want the future of the program to start with us."

The future starts now for the Regals who have completed preseason training and kick things off this weekend with a pair of games. CLU opens on the road Friday, Aug. 31 at 1:00 p.m. against Linfield before their home-opener Saturday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. in William Rolland Stadium.